Fright Night Part 2
Fright Night Part 2 is the 1988 sequel to 1985's Fright Night. Regine Dandrige (Julie Carmen), sister to the first film's vampire Jerry Dandridge, seeks revenge on Charley (William Ragsdale) and Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowall) while Charley's new girlfriend Alex (Traci Lind) becomes embroiled. Synopsis Three years after the first film, 20-year-old Charley Brewster, as a result of psychiatric therapy, now believes that Jerry Dandrige was nothing but a serial killer posing as a vampire. As a result, he comes to believe that vampires never existed. College student Charley, along with his new girlfriend, Alex Young, go to visit Peter Vincent, who is again a burnt-out vampire killer on Fright Night, much to the chagrin of Charley. While visiting Peter's apartment Charley sees four coffins being taken into a car. On the way out from Peter's apartment, Charley sees four strange people walk past him, into an elevator. Charley instantly becomes drawn to one of the four, the alluring Regine. Charley drives Alex back to her dorm and begins to make out with her, only to pull away and see Regine staring back at him. An upset Alex storms off, not realizing that something is following her. Another girl leaves the dorm as Alex enters, and she is followed and killed by one of Regine's vampires, Belle. Alex, meanwhile, is unaware that Louie, another of Regine's group, is scaling up the wall outside her window, but he is startled and falls when Alex inadvertently slams her window shut on his hands. Bozworth, a bug-eating servant of Regine, makes fun of Louie before consuming some insects. Later that night, Charley dreams that Regine comes to visit him, only to turn into a vampire and bite him. The next day, Charley talks to his psychiatrist, Dr. Harrison, who assures him that what he dreamed was only natural. Alex finds Charley bowling, per doctor's orders, and Charley agrees to go to the symphony with her. On his way there, however, he sees his friend Richie with Regine and opts to follow him. Charley climbs up to a fire escape outside of Regine's apartment, only to be horrified when he sees Regine and Belle attack and drain Richie's blood. Charley runs off to find Peter, and the two of them arm themselves with crosses and crash Regine's party. There, Charley finds Richie, but is shocked to find him alive and well, with no bite marks on his neck. Regine makes her entrance, doing an erotic dance with a mesmerized Charley. She introduces herself to Peter and Charley, and claims to be a performance artist in town for some shows. Satisfied that what he thought was Regine attacking Richie was nothing but an act, Charley leaves when he remembers his date with Alex. Peter elects to stay behind and while looking around, he notes that there are people in the corners of the room biting others on the neck. Noting the odd behavior, he draws his pocket mirror and finds that Regine and Belle, who are dancing in the middle of the dance floor, cast no reflections. Storming out of the party, Peter runs into Regine waiting for him outside. As he runs down the stairwell Peter again comes face-to-face with Regine, who reveals herself that she is a vampire, the sister of Jerry Dandrige, and has come to take her revenge on both Charley and Peter. Peter runs back home and hides, resolving to tell Charley in the morning what has just transpired. Charley, meanwhile, blows off his date with Alex, returns home and falls asleep, only to be visited by Regine, who bites him on the neck while he sleeps. Charley, content with the explanation that Regine is a performance artist, is once again in denial. He begins to discuss the situation with Alex when Peter arrives to try to warn the couple about Regine but neither believe him. Peter states that he has warned them and runs back to his home, packs his belongings and departs. Meanwhile, Charley has started to show signs of being a vampire as he is becoming sensitive to garlic and sunlight. After failing to talk to his psychiatrist, he overhears a news report about Richie's body being discovered the previous night. Now believing that everything is real, Charley goes to see Peter, only to find that Peter has gone. Louie is once again stalking Alex. Louie reveals his true nature to Alex and Charley and stalks them in the school library, only to flee after Alex injures him by cramming wild roses into his mouth. Alex and Charley are then arrested by campus police. Peter, meanwhile, is also arrested after he shows up on the set of Fright Night and attempts to kill its new host, Regine, on live TV. Everyone thinks he's lost his sanity as he says, "I have to kill the vampire"; and he ends up in a state hospital. Alex is bailed out by Dr. Harrison and goes to post bail for Charley, only to find that he has already been bailed out by Regine. Alex and Dr. Harrison head to the state hospital when the doctor reveals that he is in fact a vampire. He tries to bite Alex only for her to turn the tables on him and run him through with a piece of wood. She then assumes his identity as a doctor. At the hospital, a commotion allows Alex and Peter to escape. Alex and Peter head to Regine's lair in order to save Charley. They find a disoriented Charley, who is slowly turning into a vampire. They rescue him from an undead Richie, and in the process manage to kill Belle, Bozworth and Louie before confronting Regine. She attempts to escape into her coffin, but finds that Charley has lined it with Communion wafers. Regine knocks Alex unconscious and attempts to turn Charley into a vampire, but Peter destroys her with sunlight. The following day, Charley and Alex discuss the previous day's events, with Alex joking that if she wrote a book about it, no one would ever believe them. They know that there are no more vampires, but acknowledge that they can never be 100% certain. They embrace each other, and a bat can be heard flying away. Cast *William Ragsdale -as- Charley Brewster *Roddy McDowall -as- Peter Vincent *Traci Lind -as- Alex Young *Julie Carmen -as- Regine Dandrige *Jon Gries -as- Louie *Russel Clark -as- Belle *Brian Thompson -as- Bozworth *Ernie Sabella -as- Dr. Harrison *Merritt Butrick -as- Richie Greene *Josh Richman -as- Fritzy *Blair Tefkin -as- Bernice Production Development "There was never any question that a sequel to Fright Night would be made," commented line producer Jeffrey Sudzin, "but when a new regime took over at Columbia Pictures, a number of projects were dumped, including the Fright Night sequel." Producer Herb Jaffe secured the rights and utilized his own production company, the Vista Organization, to produce a sequel more cheaply than the low-budget original film. It was decided early on that it would be cost prohibitive to revive Jerry Dandrige, as Oscar-nominated Chris Sarandon would demand a star's salary,Diabolique Magazine - Tom Holland Interview and writer/director Tom Holland was tied up with other projects, so Jaffe pawned off writing duties. An early draft of the script included both Amy Peterson and Evil Ed Thompson but neither of the actors who'd played the roles were enamored with the material, and Amanda Bearse was busy with her new TV series, Married with Children, while Stephen Geoffreys instead opted to take the lead role in 976-EVIL, which began shooting at the same time. As a result, it was revealed that Evil Ed had been killed, and a bit of dialogue in the script which didn't make it into the final cut of the movie explained Amy's whereabouts. "We kind of broke up and she started dating a lot of older men," Charley told Peter.Fright Night Part 2, an,original script by Tim Metcalfe, Miguel Tejada-Flores and Tommy Lee Wallace, based on characters created by Tom Holland; Revised Shooting Script; August 31, 1987 "They all vaguely resembled Jerry Dandridge. One of them owned a bank. She married him and moved to Houston." By 1986, a script which became the backbone for the sequel was penned by Tim Metcalfe and Miguel Tejada-Flores, who'd conceived the story for Revenge of the Nerds. Jaffe shopped the script around Hollywood for six months before director Tommy Lee Wallace became involved. "The trouble with the first script was the tone had gone way over the top," said Wallace.Starburst Magazine - Fright Night 2 by Alan Jones, May 1989, pp. 40-43 " It was too campy, and my rewrite changed that, adding a more specific chic crowd of vampire types." After being panned by critics and fans alike for helming the notorious flop Halloween 3: Season of the Witch, Wallace was apprehensive about straying far from the formula that had made the first movie a success. "I didn't want a spotlight underlining how outrageously different we were. It was more important to make a companion piece." To ensure that would happen, Wallace sought out Tom Holland for advice. "I think the only advice Tom gave me was something like, Just don’t get too serious about it. Make sure it’s fun. It’s got to be scary, but it’s got to be fun too''.'” I took that seriously." Casting Roddy McDowall was no stranger to sequels, having starred in four Planet of the Apes films as well as a spin-off TV series, but he signed on to star as Peter Vincent again because, "I liked the script," he told Fangoria Magazine.September 1988 (Issue #77) - A Hard Day's Fright Night by Marc Shapiro, pp 26-29 It also afforded him the opportunity to reunite with his costar, William Ragsdale. The young actor recalled, "Roddy said to me once, McDowall '''I like you so much. I don’t know why!” Ragsdale also liked the script, noting that his character had evolved. "It's not like I was going to be playing a clone of the part I played in the first film," he said. "They've made Charley more mature.June 1988 (Issue #74) - Monster Invasion by Marc Shapiro, p. 10 What he has to deal with is much more troublesome, emotionally, and so the role has a lot more substance."August 1988 (Issue #76) - Fright Night Part 2 Bares Its Fangs by Marc Shapiro, pp 44-47, 68 Julie Carmen received the script because she'd just finished filming The Penitent for The Vista Organization,FRIGHT NIGHT Reunion Panel From Dallas, TX FEAR FEST but she was initially leery of the material. "I was afraid of the part because Regine's character was nothing more than an Elvira imitation," Carmen told Fangoria Magazine.Fangoria Magazine August 1988 (Issue #76) - Fright Night Part 2 Bares Its Fangs by Marc Shapiro, pp 44-47, 68 "I'm still convinced it was written as a vehicle for Elvira even though no one has actually admitted it," commented Wallace. (Incidentally, it's unknown if Cassandra Peterson was ever offered the role, but she was busy developing her own film, Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, at the same time.) Once Wallace came aboard and began reworking the screenplay, Carmen not only warmed to the character but began turning down other projects so she could prepare to play the role. "The revisions made her a more multidimensional being who happens to like sucking blood," the actress commented. In addition to consuming materials like Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles[http://vampirechronicles.wikia.com/wiki/The_Vampire_Chronicles_Wiki The Vampire Chronicles], Carmen studied Chris Sarandon's performance in the original film. "I picked up some mannerisms from the Jerry Dandridge character, such as his wink and the Bela Lugosi way he held his hand, that I use in this film. But I stopped looking at the first movie when I realized I could very easily fall into the trap of being a female clone of the Jerry Dandridge character." Choreographer Russell Clark was chosen to portray Belle, the mute, sexually-ambiguous, rollerskating vampire. Clark had experience both with rollerskates and vampires, having assisted with choreography and memorably appearing (clad in a bizarre spiderweb costume) in Xanadu ''and choreographing singer Grace Jones' 1986 vampire-stripper horror-comedy ''Vamp. Clark developed his own moves for the stylized rollerskating murder as well as Regine's hypnotic transformation dances. "He was an extraordinary choreographer," recalled Carmen. Filming The special effects makeups were designed by Greg Cannom and his crew at Cannom Creations. Cannom also worked the ''The Lost Boys'' and went on to do Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula. The visual effects were done by Gene Warren Jr. who worked on the first two Terminator movies. Reception Box office performance Unlike the first film, the sequel saw a very limited release in the US by distributor Tri-Star Pictures and co-producer The Vista Organization. According to the often inaccurate Internet Movie Database, the film opened in various countries around the world in 1988 before it debuted in the United States in 1989. In June 1988, Fangoria Magazine cited that the film would be released in August, and in the September issue the editor noted that "New Century/ Vista bumped Fright Night-Part 2 to a Fall release." It wasn't until a full year later, in August 1989, that the film finally attained American theatrical distribution, though it's release was extremely limited. "The opening per screen average was between 6 and 7000 average, which was terrific in those days," said Julie Carmen."Fright Night Exclusive Interview At this point, director Tommy Lee Wallace and Roddy McDowall lunched with the head of distribution, Jose Menendez, to discuss the marketing strategy. "His response was kind of negative, and when the lunch was over the whole thing seemed shaky and dark," recalled Wallace.Tommy Lee Wallace: The Man Behind the Mask "That very night Mr. Menendez and his wife were shotgunned in their beds. It turned out that their two sons committed the crime, but nobody knew that the next morning when the news hit the headlines. My phone rang. It was Roddy. All he said was, "Well, I didn't do it. Did you?'" The Menendez Brothers murder made headlines around the world and sent the company into a tailspin. The movie was quickly ushered out of theatres and dumped onto home video by the parent company's subsidiary, IVE Entertainment (soon to be renamed Live Entertainment and ultimately Lion's Gate). Although it was not considered financially successful at the time, through home video and television airings the movie has built a sizable cult following. Media Home video The film has had releases around the world on home video in VHS, laserdisc and DVD format. There has been no announcement of plans for an official blu-ray release but bootlegs which appear to be authentic studio-pressed discs exist and are generally priced in the triple digits. Comic Book NOW Comics also published a one shot adaptation of the film. It was originally announced that the adaptation would be the first issue of the monthly comic book series, but ultimately the first issue wound up being an adaptation of the original film and Fright Night Part II was issued as a "prestige format" graphic novel. Now Comics News, February 1988 Music Unlike the first film there has never been an official (or unofficial) release of the soundtrack or Brad Fiedel's score. T-Bone Burnett's "You Could Look It Up" (which plays when Charley is inspecting Richie's neck) was issued on his 1987 album The Talking Animals, and Wilson Pickett's "The Midnight Hour" and Richard Berry's "Louie, Louie" have found their way onto countless compilation albums. The Leslie Lewis song "Dressed in Red" (which plays as Peter discovers Regine and Belle have no reflections) was sent to an online fan by the composer and quickly got leaked all over the internet. Unfortunately, this track is low quality, it's not the exact same recording of the song utilized in the film, and someone created the longer version most commonly found today by duplicating the bulk of the mp3 and pasting it onto the end (and the reconversion resulted in a degeneration of sound quality from the original 128 kbps mp3). Deborah Holland's closing rendition of "Come to Me" has also never been issued, but countless mp3s have been made by fans who ripped the song from the end credits (the most prominently-found version is loud). This recurring theme throughout both movies appeared on the soundtrack for the original film performed by composer Brad Fiedel, but Holland's version is arranged quite differently and includes an additional verse. To date, the song "Marvel Age" by Ross Levinson has yet to surface either officially or in fandom, and the only mp3s of Fiedel's score to surface have been ripped from the movie. Background Information and Notes Cultural references Trivia Legacy The second issue of The Living Corpse: Exhumed comic series featured a cover designed in homage to the original Fright Night Part 2 theatrical poster. Trailers There seems to be some confusion about the official title of the movie (exacerbated by 2013's Fright Night 2: New Blood), and the ad campaign certainly didn't help matters. The title on the script as well as on-screen is "Fright Night Part 2." Throughout the promotional campaign, however, it was referred to as both "Fright Night II" and "Fright Night Part II". This trailer plays up the comedic angle of the film and is scored with Wilson Pickett's song "The Midnight Hour." This variation of the trailer is a throwback to the original film's promotional campaign, capitalizing on the horror aspect, and it features some brief clips from the first movie. This home video trailer is quite similar to the theatrical trailer, but there's a different narrator and a cheesy musical score. Gallery Screencaps BelleAttacks.png| RegineNostrils.jpg| LouieEyes.png| AlexLouie.jpg| RegineDandridge.jpg| CharleyAlex.png| AlexFlowers.jpg| RegineVampire.jpg| AlexHarrison.jpg| LouieWolfedOut.png| LouieWallCrawler.jpg| CharleyAlex.jpg| Photos BrewsterPart2.jpg|William Ragsdale HostingFrightNight.jpg|Roddy McDowall AlexCharley.jpg|Traci Lind & William Ragsdale Alex.jpg|Traci Lind ReginePhoto.jpg|Julie Carmen ReginePhotob.jpg|Julie Carmen Regine.jpg|Julie Carmen RegineAplliance.jpg|Julie Carmen Regine'sCrew.jpg|Jon Gries, Brian Thompson, Julie Carmen & Russell Clark Regine&Friends.jpg|Brian Thompson, Russell Clark, Jon Gries & Julie Carmen BrianThompsonJulieCarmen.jpg|Brian Thompson & Julie Carmen Fright Night Part 2 Julie Carmen Regine Glamour Shot.JPG|Sexy & Dangerous JosephAPorro.jpg|Carmen with costume designer Joseph A Porro Prey.jpg|Julie Carmen PeterLouie.jpg|Louie RollerSkates.jpg|Russell Clark Belle.jpg|Russell Clark RedBelle.jpg|Russell Clark TraciLind2.jpg|Traci Lind Lind.jpg|Traci Lind LindRose.jpg|Traci Lind RegineMonster2.jpg|Regine Bat RegineMonster.jpg Fright Night Part 2 Regine's Final Transformation 01.JPG|Regine's Final Transformation RegineSkeletal.jpg RegineMonster3.jpg Fright Night Part 2 Regine's Final Transformation 02.JPG|Regine's Final Transformation Fright Night Part 2 Regine's Final Transformation 03.JPG|Regine's Final Transformation Fright Night Part 2 Regine's Final Transformation 04.JPG|Peter Vincent fends of Regine Richie.jpg|Merritt Butrick RichieMakeup.jpg|Merritt Butrick Fright Night Part 2 Meritt Butrick.jpg|Why Vampires Hate Holy Water ReginePhoto2.jpg|Russell Clark & Julie Carmen Fright Night Part 2 Tommy Lee Wallace Roddy McDowall.jpg|Tommy Lee Wallace directs Roddy McDowall Fright Night Part 2 Roddy McDowall 6.JPG|Roddy McDowall Fright Night Part 2 Roddy McDowall 1.JPG|Roddy McDowall Fright Night Part 2 Roddy McDowall 9.jpg|Roddy McDowall Fright Night Part 2 Roddy McDowall 2.JPG|Roddy McDowall Fright Night Part 2 Roddy McDowall 3.JPG|Roddy McDowall Fright Night Part 2 Roddy McDowall 5.JPG|Roddy McDowall Fright Night Part 2 Roddy McDowall and William Ragsdale.JPG|William Ragsdale & Roddy McDowall Fright Night 2 Roddy McDowall William Ragsdale.JPG|William Ragsdale & Roddy McDowall Fright Night Part 2 Roddy McDowall 7.jpg|Roddy McDowall Fright Night 2 Russell Clark.JPG|Russell Clark Fright Night 2 Julie Carmen 2.JPG|Regine Fright Night Part 2 Tommy Lee Wallace Julie Carmen.jpg|Tommy Lee Wallace & Julie Carmen Fright Night Part 2 Julie Carmen Regine Vampire.jpg|Julie Carmen Fright Night Part 2 William Ragsdale.jpg|William Ragsdale Fright Night 2 Julie Carmen 1.JPG|Julie Carmen Fright Night 2 Julie Carmen.JPG|Julie Carmen Fright Night 2 Louie.jpg|Louie Makeup LouieCharley.jpg|Louie Attacks! Fright Night 2 Regine Makeup.jpg|Regine Makeup Fright Night Part 2 Traci Lind William Ragsdale Roddy McDowall.jpg|Traci Lind, William Ragsdale & Roddy McDowall Fright Night Part 2 Brian Thompson Goes Bowling.jpg|Pull A-head Lobby cards FN2LobbyCard1.jpg|Regine FN2LobbyCard2.jpg|Regine FN2LobbyCard3.jpg|Regine FN2LobbyCard6.jpg|Peter Vincent FN2LobbyCard5.jpg|Alex Young FN2LobbyCard4.jpg|AlexYoung Fright Night 2 Lobby Card 01 Roddy McDowall.jpg Fright Night 2 Lobby Card 02 William Ragsdale.jpg Fright Night 2 Lobby Card 03 William Ragsdale Julie Carmen.jpg Fright Night 2 Lobby Card 04 William Ragsdale Julie Carmen.jpg Merchandise F2Comic.jpg|NOW Comics adaptation Fright Night 2 The Suckers Are Back Button.JPG|Fright Night 2 Promotional Pin Fright Night 2 PAL Video.jpg|PAL VHS Cover Fright Night Part 2 Promotional Button.jpg|Promotional Button References Category:Films